


Guardian

by misbegotten



Category: Supernatural
Genre: AU, Comment Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-03-19
Updated: 2010-03-31
Packaged: 2017-10-08 03:14:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/72101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misbegotten/pseuds/misbegotten
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>If anyone could kill demons or salt and burn ghosts while half drunk off his ass, it was a Winchester.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> For kijikun's prompt: Gabriel/Sam, "No, Sammy, you aren't leaving. But don't worry when your brother comes back from the dead -- then I'll let you go. Until then, you're mine."

If anyone could kill demons or salt and burn ghosts while half drunk off his ass, it was a Winchester.

It didn't mean he did it well. But the pain felt good, Sam decided. He was trying to wrap a bandage around his ribs one handed, a fruitless effort. In the end he tossed the bandages aside and took a swig of whiskey, the amber liquid burning its way down his throat to lodge itself somewhere with the pain in his belly.

His phone rang, Bobby's ID, but he ignored it and took another drink.

He startled, dropping the bottle and going for his knife, when he heard the sound of clapping behind him. It was a single man -- single _thing_ \-- lounging on the bed, slowly putting its hands together in appreciation of the show.

"Trickster," Sam spat. He was on the thing in an instant, the knife aimed at its heart. "What are you doing here?"

The Trickster arched an eyebrow at the knife, but made no move to get away from Sam. "Just checking in on my favorite Winchester. I see you're making one good choice after another."

Sam pushed his forearm against the Trickster's throat. "Tell me this is all you," he pleaded. It didn't seem that impossible, now that he thought about it. The Trickster had made a hobby of killing Dean in creative ways, and it wasn't the first time Sam had found himself hunting alone thanks to the mischievous entity. "Tell me you can undo this."

The Trickster gently but firmly pushed Sam's arm away. "That's two things. One, this has nothing to do with me. And two... it's not in my power to undo it."

Sam lowered the knife and slid down to the floor, his back against the bed. "What are you doing here, Trickster?"

"Let's set a few things straight, Sam." The Trickster put his hand on Sam's chin and turned him to face him. "First, my name's Gabriel. Call me Gabe."

Sam stared at him blankly.

"Do it," Gabriel commanded, and it _was_ a command, something inexorable and unyielding.

"Gabe." Sam felt the word pulled from him involuntarily, unable to deny Gabriel, and the sensation made his skin crawl. Once he said it, he felt something loosen in his chest, and he took in a deep breath. "What the fuck was that?"

"Just a demonstration," Gabriel fluttered his fingers, as if it was inconsequential. "Next, your brother's coming back."

"As what?" Sam said warily, and Gabriel laughed as if he hadn't heard such a good joke in a long time.

He wiped his eyes, still chuckling. "See, this is why you're my favorite. As _Dean_, dumbass. It's just going to take a little while to spring him from Hell."

Sam stood, towering over Gabriel who was still comfortably ensconced on his bed. "What do we have to do?"

"Keep doing what you're doing. Keep fighting demons." Gabriel made a face. "And stay away from that bitch Ruby."

Sam bristled. "You may not have noticed, but I don't have a lot of allies."

"She's not an ally," Gabriel said flatly, his tone brooking no argument. "Believe me when I tell you that you do not want to go down that path."

"Why the fuck should I believe you?"

"Because I said so," Gabriel said smugly. "And--" He threw out one hand, grasping Sam's arm, and there was this _light_, a shining light that bathed the room in an unearthly glow, a light that tingled in his skin and worked its way through his tired muscles and broken bones and healed them. It made him feel lighter too, like the burden he'd been carrying since Dean's death had lessened slightly. It was something he'd prayed for, in the dark of the night. Something he thought he'd never get.

Sam staggered back and gaped at Gabriel. "What are you?"

"Right now, I'm your best friend. And your keeper."

"My keeper?" Sam whirled around, stomping to his bag and gathering his things. "You're not my keeper. And I'm leaving."

In a blink, Gabriel was standing before him. Sam struck out, a solid punch to the jaw, and fuck if it didn't feel like hitting a concrete wall.

Gabriel tsked. "I can't keep healing you all the time, clumsy. But just this once…" This time he didn't put his hand on Sam, though. This time, his lips came crashing down on Sam's.

Sam balked initially, but something softened in him as the kiss deepened, and there was that buzz again, like fireflies in the air and feathers on his skin. Gabriel's tongue was demanding, the kiss as fierce as the energy between them was comforting, and Sam felt torn between melting against Gabriel and throwing him on the bed.

They parted, both panting, and Gabriel grinned. "No, Sammy, you aren't leaving. But don't worry when your brother comes back from the dead -- then I'll let you go. Until then, you're mine."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Sam figures out that Gabriel is Gabriel.

Hunting with Gabriel was unsettling. He had little interest in spooks and monsters, often opting to vanish for extended periods while Sam did the grunt work. He was paying attention, though; one time, when Sam got caught in a firefight (literally) with a Cacus, Gabe appeared out of nowhere to pull Sam from the flames. The flesh-eating giant of a man caught sight of Gabriel's slight form and froze. He was startled long enough for Sam to cut off his head.

Gabriel may not have cared much about the majority of the supernatural, but he always knew when a demon was in town. Ruby's knife got a lot of play when Gabe got that look in his eye.

Often Gabriel traveled with Sam in the Impala, which always played the music he wanted (a fact which made Sam miss Dean to no end). The backseat was littered with candy wrappers, no matter how often Sam cleaned it out. Gabriel would read any tabloid he could get his hands on, or chat with Sam about celebrity gossip, but he skirted away from answering any questions about what or who he was. Sam could still research, though. Gabriel had made it clear he was more than just the Trickster. The only question that remained for Sam was what that extra bit was.

The answer came slowly, because Sam didn't believe it himself.

Sam was pinned down by a group of demons. Three were on the other side of the door with human hostages, including a woman and her two children. Two were trying their best to knock the crap out of Sam. Sam took down one with the knife, a quick jab and thrust that sent a spiral of black ash into the air as the demon went down. The second had a knife of her own, and she slashed wildly, cutting Sam's chest on the down stroke, his cheek on the up, so close that for a moment Sam thought he might lose the eye. He staggered back, parrying as best he could with his knife, and caught the demon's arm as she swung down again. Shoving her with all his might he pushed her off but she latched onto him, dragging him down with her and they fell hard. Fell onto each other's knives.

The demon disappeared as Sam's blade struck true, a little "o" of surprise on her face. Sam put a hand to his side and came up with a pool of blood. "Shit," he said, as the three demons from the next room appeared, their faces delighted and full of anticipation.

A rustle of air went through the room, a warm breeze first light then increasingly strong. The demons hesitated while Sam tried to put pressure on his wound, afraid he would bleed out. The wind grew stronger, a rattling at the windows and in the walls, and from the next room Sam could hear the hostages calling out in fear. The sound of wings rose, like a thousand birds flocking outside the building, and then the door flew open and there was Gabe -- _Gabriel_, calm and towering, despite his height. Behind him, a shadow blanketed the room, the shadow of wings, and Sam thought dizzily that it was one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen. As blood continued to pool on the floor from his wound, Sam watched the demons charge Gabriel. It only took a touch from Gabriel to dissipate them.

The last thing Sam saw, before he passed out, was the shadow of Gabriel's wings falling across his body.

*

"Sam."

Sam woke slowly, his side aching with phantom pain. When he ran his across the bare flesh, there was no wound.

"Sam," Gabriel repeated, and Sam looked up, surprised to find they were back in the motel room Sam had rented earlier. His shirts were gone, balled on the floor, a gruesome mess of fabric and blood. He was stretched out on the double bed, Gabriel sitting next to him with a concerned look on his face.

"Gabriel," Sam said, awed. "You're Gabriel."

Gabriel's smirk was automatic. "Yes, me Gabriel. You Sam." He ran a hand across Sam's forehead, pushing back the hair that was determined to fall in Sam's face. "You get knocked in the noggin back there, Sammy boy?"

Sam scrambled up into a sitting position, his face close to Gabriel's. "I mean it. You're an angel. _The_ angel. Gabriel."

Gabriel sketched a slight bow in Sam's direction. "Welcome to the party, Samuel Winchester. The _Arch_angel Gabriel, at your service." He leered. "Well, not your service. Maybe mine, if you're lucky."

Sam fell back on the bed. "You can't be an angel," he said, dazed. "You've been hitting on me for weeks."

Gabriel shrugged. "What can I say, that floppy hair of yours is irresistible." He stood up and paced to the end of the bed, surveying his work on Sam's wounds.

Sam rubbed his forehead. "I thought about it. If there are demons, there might be angels. But I never imagined... You're the Trickster."

"I am an angel, as it happens. An archangel. But like you, I've been on the outs with my family for a long time. I had to do something to pass the time."

Sam shot up from the bed. "If you're an archangel, can you get Dean out of Hell?"

Gabriel sighed. "I told you, Dean will be coming back. But it's not my place to bring him back."

"Not your place?" Sam echoed. "What the fuck does that mean?"

"It means that bringing Dean back requires a sacrifice that I'm not willing to make."

Sam bolted from the bed and grabbed Gabriel's arms. "What is it? I'm willing to do it."

Suddenly, Gabriel was immovable. Despite the height and weight Sam had on the slighter man, Sam couldn't budge him. "It's not your sacrifice, either. Didn't I tell you that Dean would always be your weakness?"

Sam released Gabriel in a huff, but Gabriel reached out and put a hand on Sam's shoulder, turning him inexorably back to face him. "Sam, I'm doing the best I can here. The forces against us are... big. Bigger than anything you could have imagined." He leaned forward and kissed Sam very lightly on the lips.

Sam cupped his hand on Gabriel's neck and held him in place, returning the kiss. His tongue swiped the inside of Gabriel's mouth, his teeth nipping Gabriel's lips. "You've watched out for me. Healed me. Given me hope." His breath was short, his skin heating up as Gabriel stepped forward and pressed his chest against Sam's. "What can I do for you?"

Gabriel swallowed and said thickly, "This won't get me to change my mind about Dean."

Sam bit Gabriel's jaw. "Don't care."

Gabriel took a deep breath and pushed Sam away. "Ask me again sometime," he said heavily.

And then he disappeared.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Sam meets up with Ruby

Weeks of having Gabriel around, at least tangentially, made his absence startlingly acute. Sam felt at loose ends, and he threw himself into hunting demons with even more vigor. He was burning through low-level demons fairly easily, which should have been his first clue that something was up.

A real estate office full of well-dressed demons, nearly a dozen, greeted him on what was supposed to be a routine inquiry about a local haunted house. His first thought, as two of the demons dragged him forward, was that it was going to be the ruin of a damned nice suit.

"Nice suit," the lead demon said, echoing his thoughts. She was riding a pretty brunette with close-cropped hair and a devilish grin. "A step up from your usual attire, Sam."

Sam took in the knowing smirk and the fact that he had already been disarmed of the demon knife. "Ruby?" he asked, incredulous.

She lifted her hands, taking in the body she was inhabiting. "None other," she acknowledged. "Good to see you again."

"Wish I could say the same," Sam shot back. "What's going on ?"

"I'm tired of being on the losing side, Sammy," Ruby said. "I'm tired of playing the long game, and I'm damned if I'm going to let you get away so easily."

Sam winced as the demons holding him pulled his arms tighter. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about your little feathered friend," she snarled. "When the angel stepped in, the playing field changed." Taking a dagger from her pocket, she pulled up her sleeve and cut into the soft flesh of her forearm. "It's time to get things back on track."

Sam watched, transfixed, as blood welled from the wound and Ruby advanced on him. To his astonishment, one of the demons holding him grabbed his head and tilted it back so Ruby could bring her arm to his mouth. "Drink," she urged him. She turned her arm so the blood dripped down into Sam's mouth, and he gagged, trying to spit it out. His captors' grips on him grew painful, a third demon coming over to pry open Sam's jaw. "Drink," Ruby insisted.

His vision went black as pain edged around the places where he'd fought the demons, where he still struggled against them, but the blood... God, the blood tasted harsh and metallic and _powerful_.

*

Sam came to in his motel room, his head splitting. He lay on the bed, the room spinning like a bad night out with Dean in the bad old days. His body felt like he'd done five rounds with a heavyweight and his suit -- there was the evidence that he hadn't imagined the whole thing. Ruby force-feeding him demon blood; what the hell was that about?

He peeled off the suit jacket and unbuttoned his shirt, letting it fall on the floor. He kicked off his shoes and pants, and stumbled to the bathroom. The shower, even on high, wasn't hot enough, but Sam stood under the pathetic spray and tried his hardest to scrub the touch of the demons off his skin.

"Gabriel," he said, leaning on the shower wall as if it had the strength to hold him up. "What's going on?"

Given the quality of his day thus far, Sam really should have expected to find Gabriel in the motel room when he got out of the shower. Naturally, Sam was wearing only a towel. "Jesus," Sam said. "Where have you been?"

"Jesus was a nice guy," Gabriel said as he put his feet up on the crappy motel table. "Liked to tell stories."

Sam smacked Gabriel's feet down and tried not to feel self-conscious about the towel as he dug in his duffle for a clean pair of jeans. "I repeat, where have you been? I could have used you today."

"Oh yeah?" Gabriel put his feet on the crappy bed instead. "Stub your toe? Need me to kiss it all better?"

"No," Sam snapped. "I lost Ruby's knife. To _Ruby_. And then she poured half a gallon of her blood down my throat."

Gabriel was in front of him in an instant. "She gave you demon blood?" he asked intently, looking into Sam's eyes and lifting up one eyelid as if it might reveal something significant.

Sam batted him away. "Yes. Care to tell me why?"

Gabriel shook his head several times, whistling low. "This is bad, Sammy boy. Bad, bad, bad."

Frustrated, Sam pushed Gabriel back to the wall, arm at his throat. "What is going on?" he demanded.

Gabriel didn't seem fazed by the assault. "You've already got a baby dose of infant blood in you, Sam. What do you think a full-size amount is going to do to your freaky powers?"

Sam pushed harder, his arm against the archangel's throat. "So I won't use them."

Gabriel snorted. "Right."

"I won't," Sam insisted.

Gabriel's breath was hot on his face as he leaned forward into Sam's arm with no apparent difficulty. "Tell me you're not tempted to use a little juice right now."

With a sudden jerk, Sam was off his feet and flying into the wall opposite. He had barely landed before he flung out his hand toward Gabriel, eyes narrowed, the power flowing through him--

_Christ_.

He sank to the floor, hands around his knees, suddenly aware he'd lost his towel somewhere in their altercation. His hands were shaking, and he dug his fingernails into the skin around his knees to stop them.

"Sam," Gabriel said softly, crouching in front of him. "We'll get through this."

Sam looked up into hazel eyes, brushed back hair, a familiar lazy grin. Gabe, _Gabriel_ was offering to help him.

Sam curled his hand behind Gabriel's neck and pulled gently, bringing Gabriel's lips to his own in a tentative, gentle kiss.

It went straight from tentative to dirty. Gabriel kissed like a firestorm, hot and demanding, sending a jolt right up Sam's spine. He put his hands on Gabriel's shoulders, drawing him closer, meeting him with teeth and tongue as Gabriel ravaged his mouth.

Suddenly Gabriel pulled back. His pupils were blown wide, a pinprick of gold at the center that Sam found strangely attractive. "Fuck," Gabriel swore. "Not when you're coming off a high."

Sam felt the room spinning, and thought maybe Gabriel was right. "I'm going to take it personally if you keep turning me down," he said weakly.

Gabriel grumbled as he pushed himself up and scrambled for the jeans Sam had lost earlier. "Here," he said, tossing the clothes at Sam. "Get dressed. You need food."

Sam retired to the bathroom to dress, willing away his throbbing erection. When he came out, he asked gruffly, "Food?"

Gabriel nodded. "Let's go out."

Sam was surprised that Gabriel didn't just snap up something, but he was grateful for his presence. Any way he could get it.

The image of Gabriel's eyes, ringed with power and lust, stayed with him.


End file.
